Booker Prize 2026 shortlist puts two past winners against Pulitzer winner and debut novelist
Two former Booker Prize winners will go up against a Pulitzer Prize winner, a former Booker judge and two first-time contenders for the 2026 Booker Prize.
The shortlist, the final six books still in contention, was confirmed on 22 September. It brings together Marlon James for The Disappearers, Douglas Stuart for John of John, Elizabeth Strout for The Things We Never Say, M John Harrison for The End of Everything, Luke Kennard for Black Bag and Rebecca Perry for May We Feed the King, according to The Guardian.
James and Stuart arrive with previous Booker wins behind them. James won in 2015 for A Brief History of Seven Killings. Stuart won in 2020 for Shuggie Bain.
Strout brings a different prize history. She won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize, the American awards for journalism, books and the arts, for Olive Kitteridge. She was longlisted, named on the wider preliminary list, for the Booker in 2016 for My Name is Lucy Barton. She was then shortlisted in 2022 for Oh William!.
Harrison knows the process from the other side of the table. He served as a judge, one of the panel members who selects the winner, in 2022. He is shortlisted this year for The End of Everything.
Perry is the sole debut novelist on the list. That means May We Feed the King is her first published novel. Kennard completes the six with Black Bag.
James also accounts for the longest read on the list. The Disappearers runs to 640 pages.
The six were chosen from a longlist of 13 writers. Ten of those 13 were longlisted for the first time, alongside past winners James and Stuart and previous shortlistee Strout. The shortlisted authors represent four countries, including Jamaica for James and Scotland for Stuart, according to Booker Prizes.
The winner will be named on Monday 9 November. The purse is £50,000, about $66,600, according to NPR. The winner also receives a trophy.
What makes this stand out is the mix of experience on one list. Two writers have already won the prize. One has judged it. One has been shortlisted before. Two are shortlisted for the first time, including a debut novelist. For readers following prize season, that leaves six separate paths through to November.
